Truth In The Lie
by WishingstarBB
Summary: Andros distances himself away from the others as Ashley begins to question their relationship. The rangers must continue to face multiple challenges to save the world despite each having their own personal conflicts. Parings: AndrosxAshley, ZhanexCassie
1. Chapter 1

**Truth In The Lie**

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Power Rangers in Space (PRiS). Some chapters will reference fights and scenes from the show, but everything else is fictitious and may follow the general PRiS theme.

Story picks up after the episode _'The Secret of the Locket'_.

Author's Notes: The pairings of the story will be Andros and Ashley, and a love rectangle between Astronema, Zhane, Cassie and the Phantom Ranger. I just thought mixing it up might make things more interesting and I can't help but think how Zhane and Cassie would make a cute couple.

This is my first time writing a fan fiction, hope you enjoy.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

**Chapter One**

Carlos steadied himself on the top step of the steel ladder, his arms extended up to hold a banner in place. Without wobbling from side to side, he temporary looked down at his friend and asked, "Is that good?"

Ashley raised her head and stood back from the bridge's doorway with squinted eyes. "Hmm," She arched her brows, a habit she had when in contemplation. "A little more to the right," She shook her head, then lifted her hand to wave him in the desired direction. "Little more, little more… Perfect!"

"Now that even the banner's in place, everything looks ready to go." T.J. clasped his hands together and looked around the bridge contently.

The four Astro rangers from Earth had decorated the room in anticipation of Zhane's return from helping the KO-35 rebels strengthen their defense and rebuild their base. Zhane had contacted them just a few days ago to inform of his return, but Astronema and her list of evil minions had kept the rangers busy until now.

"Should we use the synthetron to make some food now, or wait until he's actually here?" Cassie questioned as she emerged from a pile of unused decorations lying on the ground. She bent down slightly to dust off her knees and a flash of memory suddenly darted into her mind. "On second thought, we should start making some now. Remember Zhane's appetite?"

Carlos gave a loud snort and nodded in agreement, but before he could mutter a word, the sudden ringing of the emergency alarm cut short their conversation.

"Rangers, Astronema and her quantrons are attacking Earth." Deca's voice filled the room and within a second, an image of the attack was brought onto the large viewing screen in front of them.

"Okay guys, let's go!" T.J. ran towards the direction of the jump tubes but came to an abrupt stop before he reached the doorway. "Wait, has Andros been notified of this?"

Ever since their return to the mega ship from their previous fight, Andros had gone straight into his room and refused to talk to anyone but Ashley. Though they all knew he had never been a very social or outgoing person to begin with, none of them could recall a time when he locked himself up in his room since the five of them have become friends.

Naturally, all glances shifted towards Ashley. She was the one who knew Andros the most as they shared a special type of relationship. Rather than to stop and discuss her plan with her friends though, Ashley ran up ahead past them and called back, "You guys go first, I'll go get Andros and meet you down there."

The three rangers took Ashley's suggestion and dashed off towards the jump tubes.

"Andros!" Ashley shouted while rounding a corner of the narrow hall, "Andros, Earth is under attack!" Without knocking, she hurried into his bedroom in an attempt to save time, but after catching a lifeless stare from him, she regretted her lack of manners. "Andros," Her voice was soft and weak, like the look on his face had somehow frightened her into a fragile state. "The others have gone down already; we should go help them too."

"She's my sister," He turned away to face a drawer by the left of his bunk bed. Placed in the center on top of the metal surface was the framed picture of a young girl. Andros stared mindlessly at it and sighed. "Karone's my sister, I can't fight her."

An awkward silence swept the room. For an extended moment, neither of them could find the courage or vocabulary to break the silence. After yesterday's fight, Andros had returned to the scene, remembering that he had knocked off Astronema's familiar looking necklace during their battle. When he found the necklace hanging loosely from an iron rod, he wondered briefly whether it was real. Was he dreaming? Or was it some kind of an eerie nightmare? After all these years, he finally found his long lost sister, yet she turned out to be their most hated enemy… Astronema.

"Rangers, Astronema has retreated and sent the Stinging Cactus to destroy Earth." Unaware of the tensed atmosphere in the room, Deca's voice came on and notified. "Andros, Ashley, the others need your help."

Taking a few steps forward, Ashley reached out for Andros' hand. "It's just the monster now, we won't be fighting your sister." She pointed out gently, "Please, let's go help the others. We'll talk more about this when we come back, okay?"

Though he knew it was up to him and his friends to save the universe from evil, he couldn't deny that coming up with a way to bring Karone back was just as important to him as his destiny. It wasn't until Ashley kept persuading him to join the fight that he realized helping his friends would be the more appropriate thing to do in the bigger picture. "You're right Ashley, let's do it."

OOOOOOOO

By the time Andros and Ashley reached Angel Grove, the megazords have already been called. Sparks flew out rapidly from the mid-section of the Astro Delta Megazord after a strike from the now super-sized plant monster. Within a few seconds, the megazord had tumbled down onto the grey cement ground and raising it back to its feet appeared difficult.

"We're losing power, and fast," Cassie alerted her teammates. She pushed a few buttons on the control panel in front of her and read aloud the damage report.

T.J. closed his hand into a fist and let out a grunt in frustration, "The damages from the megazord's previous fight haven't been fully repaired yet. The monster's too strong for us in our current condition, we need a new plan!"

"But what else can we do? We've already combined the Astro Megazord and the Delta Megazord. This is all the fire power we've got." Carlos reminded while the megazord took another blow from the monster. This battle had originally started in their favor, but they had obviously underestimated the monster's destruction threshold a little too early.

"Guys, we've got to bring the megazord back to its feet. If we hold him off a while longer, maybe we'll come up with another plan." Andros wasn't ready to give up so easily, but before anyone was able to move their controls, they could see the monster charging at them through the viewing screen.

It would've only taken one more step until the monster was near enough to destroy the megazord with the stomp of its stem. Yet the sudden firing of another zord from behind knocked the Stinging Cactus off stride.

"No one messes with my friends and gets away with it!" Zhane piloted his new Mega Winger and began battling the monster. A few quick punches and a kick gave just enough time for the other rangers to get their megazord back on its feet. "You guys step aside and let me finish the job," Zhane spoke through his communicator. Not that he wanted to sound cocky, but he only wanted to protect his friends and their zord.

As the gigantic monster recovered from the previous assaults, Zhane aimed the Mega Winger's ultimate weapon at it. "Wing Blaster, fire!"

Directly on target, laser beams fired from the Mega Winger pierced through the Stinging Cactus' body. In a matter of seconds, a massive explosion erupted on the battlegrounds and debris flew everywhere within the area as an aftermath.

OOOOOOOO

Cheers of triumph carried out to as far as Megadeck 3, giving Alpha quite a pleasant surprise. "The rangers, they're back!" In quick, tiny robotic steps, Alpha made his way up to meet them. "Ai-yah-yai! Zhane, what are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming back!" The robot spun around and put its hands up to its communication speaker, muffling the giggles that were trying to escape. If Alpha had eyes and could wink, it certainly would've done so to the others.

"Well, nice to see you too, Alpha. I thought I told you guys a few days ago that the rebels' defense have gotten a lot stronger and that I'd be coming back." He stood by his locker, unloading his morpher and various weapons into it. "Didn't you all listen to that message?" He questioned with high hopes of a few nods in return.

"Message? What message?" Andros closed his locker and scanned around the room to find only blank faces staring back at him. "Zhane, we didn't get any messages from you. In fact, we had no idea you'd be coming back to join us today."

Carlos walked toward the doorway while holding back his laughter. "If it makes you feel any better," He turned back to face the silver ranger, "I'll say on behalf of everyone that it's nice to have you back."

A weak smile formed on Zhane's face, "Thanks?" Something wasn't right, this had to be a joke. He was afraid that the distance from the rebel's base to the mega ship was too great that he made sure to use a communicator with extra strength for reaching the perfect frequency. In fact, he was certain they must've received his message without static or noise. "Come on, guys, you did hear the message, right?" Surely his friends wouldn't be that heartless, would they?

"I'm going to do some maintenance repairs on the megazords, Carlos, Alpha, you guys want to help?" T.J. ignored Zhane's comments and made his way over to join Carlos by the door. They didn't even wave or mutter a "later" when they strode off into the next room.

It was apparent that Zhane was confused and a little disappointed, but neither of the remaining rangers gave him time to figure out what was happening.

Ashley, who had been standing with Andros near the steps leading to the jump tubes, leapt towards the exit and dragged Andros with her. "I have an Astronomy exam tomorrow and Andros is going to help me study. See ya!"

With only Cassie left in the room with him, Zhane's lips twisted into a wry grin while he quickly spun himself around to face her. "I'm sure you heard the message and knew I was coming back. Did I ever tell you that you're my favourite pink ranger?"

An uneasy expression formed on Cassie's face. "Sorry, but it's been a rough day and I'm dead tired so I think I'm going to go take a nap." She excused herself in the most polite way.

"What?!" He cried out in disbelief, "Then what am I supposed to do? I come back to spend time with you guys and everyone just leaves me?"

"Well, if you're looking for something to do, the hallway lights on Megadeck 3 have been flickering for a few days now. Go check it out, I think the bulbs are about to go out," She notified him of the maintenance issue before turning a corner of the stretched hallway.

Any expressions of hope or happiness have now been completely removed from Zhane's face. This wasn't the way he had anticipated his return to be like. Never mind the balloons, but where was that big shiny banner with the "welcome back" greeting on it? All those sleepless nights he spent while helping the rebels were the direct results of missing and worrying about his dear friends. Did any of them ever talk about him? Did they even think about him? With heavy steps and his head down, he dragged his feet towards the bridge…

"Surprise!"

He jumped at the remark and nearly fell backwards to land on his bottom. "Guys, that was not funny!" He shouted as his eyes glanced around the room to find everything he had hoped for. "Balloons, banner, and food! This is awesome!"

Everyone in the room shook their heads and laughed, including Alpha. "You think we'd really not care about you rejoining the team?" They watched the blonde man blush and the room erupted into more laughter as they ran up to him for a big group hug, "Welcome back, Zhane!"

To be continued…

OOOOOOOOOOOO

AN: Just thought I'd throw in a little classic PRiS moment to begin the story with. How'd you find the first chapter? Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

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"Karone!" Andros shouted with desperateness in his tone. He sprung swiftly into an upright position and could feel sweat dripping down the sides of his face. With his breathing just as accelerated as his heartbeat, it took him a moment to regain himself before he reached his arms up to pull his long hair back into a ponytail.

The event of his sister's kidnapping was haunting him once again. Not that the nightmares were anything new to him; he has had them every now and then since Karone has been abducted. Yet lately, especially since he found out that Astronema is his long lost sister, there hasn't been a night he could sleep through without being awakened by the memory of that tragic incident.

Pushing himself up from the bunk bed and onto his feet, he turned to his left and reached out for a metal picture frame. The two photos of him and Karone while little only intensified the sadness and sorrow that welled up in his heart.

Outside, Ashley's quick and light steps hardly made a noise on the floor of the hallway. Yet the now empty hall wasn't occupied with silence either. Besides the ever humming noise coming from the dozen engines of the ship, she could hear a thumping sound that was growing louder by the second. Slowing to a stop in front of Andros' bedroom door, she put a hand up to her chest and took a step back.

"My heart, why is it beating so fast?" She whispered softly to herself.

Then it all came back to her: the stare. It was that lifeless stare Andros bore earlier; it looked as though evil had taken over the whole universe and all he could do was stand there and stare at the results of his failure. Never before has she seen him look that way, so depressed and full of emptiness.

"Andros?" As she took a step forward, she called his name while the door swish opened. "Are you okay?"

"Ashley," His voice came out hoarse and he hesitated briefly before replying to her question. "I'm fine. What are you doing out of your room so late? It's way past midnight."

The room was dark besides for the occasional specks of light shining through the window from the stars out in space. Though there must be millions of stars out there, it was hardly enough to illuminate his face. But even if it were bright enough, Ashley dared not look.

"I thought I heard you yell, so I came to check up on you." She explained, holding his hand to lead him back to the bunk bed. Together, they sat down side by side and stared into the darkness before them. "I'm sorry we didn't get to talk about your sister today after the fight. Zhane's party lasted longer than I expected with his heroic stories and it would've been rude to interrupt him."

"It's okay," His monotone response seemed to indicate otherwise, "I didn't really want to talk about it."

She arched her brow and finally looked at him for the first time since she entered. "Andros, don't do this. I want to help you, we all do."

Slowly, he gave a nod as though only to satisfy her, "I know."

She heaved a sigh and knew there was no way to penetrate through that defensive barrier of his tonight. Yet she couldn't just get up and walk away to leave him like this. There was only one thing she could think of that might make him feel better though. Leaning closer, she extended her arms and wrapped them around his neck, resting her chin on his shoulder. "When you're ready to talk, I'll be right here."

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Grass as green and dense as thick carpet covered the entire soccer field of the Angel Grove park. The sun was shining bright up in the clear skies and an occasional breeze of cool air made the temperature ideal for a soccer game.

Andros sat at the second row of the bleachers alongside his friends except for Carlos, who was out on the field warming up for his game. They were all very proud of Carlos for making the school team when the semester had started, but with everything else going on in their lives, this was the first time they were able to cheer for him as a group.

"Today's match is a pretty big game for our school team, if we can beat our opponent, we'll tie for first place with them." T.J. sat in between Cassie and Zhane and noted to them. Ashley was on the other side of Cassie, but she seemed too occupied with deep thoughts like Andros that he didn't want to disturb them.

Just as the whistle blew to begin the soccer game, another soccer ball accidentally hit the side of the bleachers where Andros was sitting. He took his eyes off of the match and turned to the ground beside him. While he reached to pick it up, a chubby little hand tapped him and the shoulder.

"Mister, can I have my ball back?" The little boy gave him a wide grin, which revealed a few missing teeth. "Please?"

"Sure, here you go," A smile formed on Andros' face as he handed the round ball back to him. Innocently, the little boy ran off towards a more shaded area of the park and continued playing. Andros kept his gaze on the adorable youngster and his smile grew wider, but only until a little girl emerged from behind a tree and joined the boy. He could tell that the two children were related, and the happiness shown on their faces brought him bittersweet memories.

"Goal! Angel Grove High strikes first!"

Loud screams and cheers erupted on the bleachers and most of the rangers were part of the ever noisy crowd. Arms waved in the air and someone at the front had gotten out of his seat to start a victory dance.

Ashley laughed along with her friends and turned to her right, "Andros, look…" Puzzled, she arched her brow and looked around her surroundings. He was no longer sitting beside her anymore, but where did he go? Why did he suddenly walk off by himself without telling her?

By the time she finally decided to stop scanning the area for traces of him, she realized that everyone but her had taken their seats once again. Awkwardly, she bent her knees and sat back down in her spot.

"Everything okay, Ash?" Cassie could sense that something was troubling her best friend. "Where did Andros go?"

"I… I don't know," She replied hopelessly, "Cassie, I really don't know anymore."

The tone in her voice was different from usual, and it hardly took Cassie a second to recognize that it was one of uncertainty and insecurity. Quickly, Cassie directed her attention from the soccer game to her friend, "Does this have anything to do with Astronema being his sister?"

Ashley sighed and nodded, "Yes, and you know how before yesterday's fight, you all went down to fight Astronema while I went to get Andros from his room? I walked in without knocking and he had the strangest look on his face."

"What do you mean?" Cassie asked curiously and tried her best to block out the noise from the crowd. Their school team's opponent had just scored to tie the game at 1-1. "The strangest look on his face?"

"It was horrible. He had this hollow stare and it was like I could see right through his eyes. There was no emotion or any traces of that lively spark you're supposed to have," Just thinking back to the sight sent chills down her spine, "And last night, I heard him yelling in the middle of the night."

Cassie widened her eyes, "Was it a nightmare?"

"Yeah, he was dreaming about Karone's kidnapping." She let out another sigh, "The hardest thing is that he refuses to talk to me about it. I stayed with him for the whole night, waiting for him to open up, but he never did. I wish I knew what he's thinking, I'm really worried about him."

That hopeless feeling of not knowing was all too familiar to Cassie. It always frustrated her and upset her to wonder endless possibilities and not be able to get any confirmations. Like the Phantom Ranger's whereabouts and his safety; how much she wishes everyday that she'd be able to hear from him again, just to know he's well. "Sometimes, all we can do is wait. Wait until he's ready to talk."

T.J. broke up the intense girl talk with an excited note, "Girls, look, Carlos has the ball and it looks like he's going for the net!"

Like everyone else watching the soccer match, Zhane's eyes followed the ball closely until something out of the ordinary captured his divided attention. Off to the side of the field, two young men struggled to climb up the thick trunk of a tree. Known for being nosy, Zhane slipped away from the bleachers unnoticed and casually walked over to the two strangers.

"Jump a little - achoo - higher, will you? Achoo!" Bulk smacked the back of his partner in crime while having a sneezing fit. "Higher, so - achoo- you can grab that branch - achoo - and pull up!"

Skull saluted his friend and began another series of unsuccessful attempts at climbing the tree. The story behind their act was simple. Bulk's grandmother went out of town and asked Bulk, whom unknown to his grandmother is allergic to cats, to take care of her fluffy animal for the time being. Unfortunately, when the cat ran away, it climbed up on a tree and can't get down.

"What's going on here, do you guys need some help?"

"You talking to us?" Through puffy and watery eyes, Bulk could see a blonde young man with a huge grin standing in front of him. "That cat up the tree, it's stuck, and we want it down."

After yet another failed attempt at reaching the tree branch, Skull was ready to give up. "I'm going to look for a park ranger or something to see if he has a ladder." Before he walked off, he turned to Zhane. "Stay here and watch the cat."

Though the cat was quite a distance up the tree, Bulk's allergy was obviously still in effect. He was sneezing so much that he stumbled forward and tumbled to the ground.

Zhane did a full scan of the park and acknowledged that people were either too focused on the game or other activities to be able to notice his next stunt. Raising his hand in the air, he pointed it in the direction of the cat and wiggled his fingers.

Bulk recovered momentarily and was able to get back on his feet, and once he did, he could feel another sneeze coming. Yet in between that free moment of not sneezing, he could see his grandmother's cat in Zhane's arms.

"I can't find any ladders!" An out of breath Skull came running back, but it didn't matter anyway that he came back empty handed. "You got it down," Skull reached for a cage by the side of the tree and opened up the gate, "Quick, put it in here."

"How did you climb up and get down so fast?" Bulk asked, astonished by the quickness of the rescue.

Zhane made a face, "Your cat… Umm… It kind of just jumped into my arms."

Bulk and Skull exchanged glances and shrugged. "Cool, so what's your name?"

With a flash of a smile, he introduced himself, "I'm Zhane."

"Hey, wait a minute, you're one of the new guys that hang out with T.J. and bunch." Bulk suddenly realized and a tinge of dislike seemed to come out with those words. "Well, either way, you saved my grandmother's cat."

Skull nodded in agreement, "And if anyone ever tries to bully you, let us know and we'll make sure they'll never do it again."

"Uh, sure." Zhane nodded awkwardly while the noise in the park abruptly faded into an eerie silence besides the occasional chirps from the birds. He spun himself around to see a player lying on the grass field in pain. In the corner of his eye, he could see his friends running frantically onto the field. "Carlos!" He finally realized what was happening. "Sorry guys, I have to go." He excused himself from Bulk and Skull and dashed off to join his friends.

Medical trainers arrived beside Carlos and lifted him onto a stretcher. "He seems to have hurt his leg and his back. We'll have to take him to the hospital for further examinations."

T.J. and the others watched as the medical staff carried Carlos away and loaded him into an ambulance. "Guys, we should head over to the hospital too so we can stay with him later."

"But Andros," Ashley bit her lip and lowered her head.

"You guys go with Carlos and I'll go find Andros, we'll meet up with you at the hospital." Zhane volunteered to go search, "Andros is my best friend, I'll find him."

To be continued…

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AN: Silly me, I forgot to mention that this story picks up after the episode 'The Secret of the Locket' (But you probably already figured that out). Once again, please review!


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